Why eat out or order in when you can have tasty, healthy, organic food delivered to your door? Let me do the work so that you can sit down to a quiet and peaceful meal without the stress of shopping and food preparation.

EDUCATION

I am a graduate of the chef's training program at the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in New York City, which is the only culinary school in the world that focuses on the use of organic, natural and whole foods in cooking. I learned that healthy food is not only about putting nutrients into the body, but also about achieving the highest quality of flavor and appearance.  

FOOD SELECTION & PREPARATION

I prepare food that is seasonal and from local farms. I use only the best natural ingredients and will never compromise quality and taste over profit. I also believe in food that is not sprayed with pesticides, genetically modified, or processed between the time in the field and onto your plate.

Thus, I favour fermented soy products (e.g. tempeh and miso) over processed soy ingredients. I use olive, canola, sesame, coconut and grapeseed oils for cooking and baking while saving extra virgin, flax and hemp oils for dressings. I use fine quality sea salt, dulse flakes, umeboshi vinegar and/or wheat-free tamari for seasoning and agave, molasses, brown rice syrup, sucanat and maple syrup for sweetening.

When preparing foods I avoid microwaving and deep-frying in favour of more health-supportive cooking methods. I also try to match my cooking style to the season as much as possible (i.e. raw, steamed and sautéed in the warmer months; stewed and baked in colder weather).

MEAL PLANNING

When planning menus, I follow the guidelines outlined by traditional, health-supportive, whole foods diets as taught by Annemarie Colbin, Paul Pitchford and other whole foods specialists. The meals change weekly and provide you with a variety of health benefits as well as a diversity of color, taste and texture to liven up your palette. They also provide a refreshing take on traditional foods from around the world.

The balance of food categories in the meals is typically as follows:

• 30-35% Grains & Starches (e.g. brown rice, quinoa, millet, barley, buckwheat, potatos, yams)
• 35-50% Vegetables (e.g. leafy greens, roots, squashes, seaweed, sprouts, fresh herbs)
• 10-15% Legumes (e.g. aduki, kidney, black-eyed peas, lentils, soy)
• 5-15% Fruits, Nuts & Seeds (e.g. apples, pears, mango, cranberries, walnuts, almonds, cashews, black sesame, pumpkin, sunflower)

The proportion of calories provided by protein in the meals is approximately 10 to 15 percent. Studies show that contemporary diets, including vegetarian, are typically in excess of actual protein requirements and it is common for us to experience symptoms of protein overload. Therefore, Green Zebra meals provide a balanced alternative to our often disproportionate eating habits.

I also follow the traditional Chinese medicine theory of the Five Phases by incorporating each of the five tastes - salty, sour, spicy, sweet and bitter - into each meal. While I tend towards overall balance of the five tastes, flavouring of meals is proportional to the seasons (e.g. sweet and spicy in summer; salty and sour in winter).

By eating a balanced, whole foods diet, you will consume the necessary macro- and micronutrients for optimal energy metabolism, digestion, elimination, immune system function and emotional vitality. Of course, the process of healing through whole foods is goal-oriented and is therefore different for each of us. I am thus open and willing to customise each menu in order to accommodate individual health goals.